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Some NJ Communities Still Dealing With October Snowstorm’s Aftermath

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SHORT HILLS, N.J. (CBS 2) — New Jersey’s still feeling the frustration weeks after the October snow. On some streets, you’d think the storm hit yesterday.

Mother Nature did a number on the Garden State during that freak snowstorm a couple months ago. Who can forget images of massive tree limbs cracking and crashing under the weight of heavy wet snow? Millburn and Short Hills were hit hard.

The storm blew through on Oct. 29 and more than month later, piles of limbs and debris still stand along the roadside. So what’s taking so long to clean up the mess? CBS 2’s Vanessa Murdock posed the question to the Millburn Township Administrator Tim Gordon.

“There was a lot of lumber out on the road and it takes a lot of time to clean it up because our public works department is not only doing that, but they have their normal function to do — repairing pot holes and things like that,” he said.

When asked about the need to put more crews on the job, Gordon had more to say.

“You can have too many crews out there and then they get in each other’s way. So I think we’re handling it fine now,” he said.

Anthony Boffa, a tree supervisor with Millburn Public Works, is in charge of cleaning up the mess — a job he said is “challenging.”

“This one was by far the most devastating damage – every street in town had some kind of tree damage,” he said.

Twice the normal number of crews are working six days a week to clear up the leftovers. Local policemen and firemen are out too, working overtime to help with the mammoth task.

Most neighbors recognize their hard work.

“I think the township has done a great job trying to keep up with everything,” Covkin sad.

Some, though, think the clean-up on their street should have been quicker.

“They’ve been really slow with the clean-up,” William Bonomo, a Short Hills resident, said.

It may have taken a while, but public works is out working to get limbs off the streets. The problem is compounded by mounds of fallen leaves that are waiting to be collected.

Officials are hopeful the work will be done in one to two weeks. Clean-up will cost Millburn Township more than $200,000 dollars, but FEMA funding should help cover some of it.